Submitted ballots are wheeled through the King County elections ballot processing facility on East Marginal Way South.

Submitted ballots are wheeled through the King County elections ballot processing facility on East Marginal Way South.

Photo: Joshua Trujillo, Seattlepi.com

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Secretary of state Kim Wyman: "This is about leveling the playing field and making elections equal for all citizens of Washington."

Secretary of state Kim Wyman: "This is about leveling the playing field and making elections equal for all citizens of Washington."

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Connelly: You won't need a stamp to mail in your election ballot

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Washington voters will not have to use a stamp to return their mail-in ballots, either in the August primary or the November general election.

Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of State Kim Wyman announced Tuesday that they have found dollars to reimburse 38 of Washington's 39 counties for postage costs. King County last week adopted an ordinance to pay for return postage for its residents.

With fear that this would give the state's most populous county an unfair advantage, Wyman appealed to Inslee for assistance.

They are combining $600,000 of money from the Governor's office with an equal contribution from Wyman. Much of the money will come from this fiscal year in the form of salary savings from unfilled positions in state government.

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"More voter participation makes for a stronger democracy," Inslee said. "Because Washington is a vote by mail state, prepaid postage is one important way we can reduce barriers to casting ballots."

There's nothing like a stay-away public to focus the mind. Just 37 percent of the state's voters cast ballots in last November's elections, although such offices as Mayors of Seattle and Tacoma -- neither with an incumbent seeking reelection -- were up for grabs.

Wyman had asked the King County Council to hold off until she contacted Inslee and asked for postage money across the state.

"This is about leveling the playing field and making elections equal for all citizens of Washington," she said Tuesday. Wyman is a Republican.

The 8th Congressional District, held by retiring Republican Rep. Dave Reichert, is a major battleground in this fall's drive by Democrats to retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Democratic-leaning King County is part of the district, but so too are Republican bastions of Chelan and Kittitas Counties in Central Washington.

Inslee is pledging to work with the Legislature to get permanent money for ballot postage, "establish a permanent statewide program and ensure King County is reimbursed for their proactive work on this effort."

Reimbursement is not certain, said King County Council member Joe McDermott. "I wish they had found funding for all 39 counties and that we didn't have to wait for the Legislature," he said. "You can't count on the Legislature and we will have to work on it."

Wyman's office will administer the 2018 funding as a grant to all the 38 counties that choose to provide pre-paid ballot return postage to their voters.

While other states have launched stealth attacks on voting -- particularly measures making it difficult for elderly and minority voters to cast ballots -- Washington has been moving in exactly the opposite direction.

The 2018 Legislature enacted measures for Election Day registration, automatic registration, and a Future Voter program in which 16 and 17-year-olds will be enrolled when they receive their drivers licenses.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has yet to draw a "name" opponent, but the 3rd, 5th and 8th Congressional districts will be contested. U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., a member of the House Republican leadership, faces front rank Democratic challenger Lisa Brown in her Eastern Washington district.

Gun safety, carbon tax, and sugary beverage initiatives appear headed for the ballot. On the ballot, as well, will be 120 seats in the Washington Legislature as well as three state Supreme Court justice jobs.

SeattlePI.com writer Joel Connelly can be reached at 206-448-8160 or joelconnelly@seattlepi.com

Columnist Joel Connelly has written about politics for the P-I since 1973.